Support structure



June 1964 R. E. COMSTOCK ETAL 3,138,358

SUPPORT STRUCTURE Filed July 9, 1962 INVENTO #5582/5 [2M5 1" B fin Z11 A. 'd/zxrdh j H TU/YAIEYS,

United States Patent 3,138,358 SUPPORT STRUCTURE Russell E. Comstock and Edwin L. Gannaway, Sidney, Ohio, assignors to Copeland Refrigeration Corporation, Sidney, Ohio, a corporation of Michigan Filed July 9, 1962, Ser. No. 208,332 4 Claims. (til. 2482) This invention relates broadly to supports for vibrating structures and in particular relates to an improved support for hermetic motor-compressor units.

These units which are typically employed in the refrigeration systems of room coolers, refrigerators and the like are often of the single cylinder type which vibrate at substantial frequencies and thereby vibrate their supporting structures. If these vibrations of the supporting structure are transmitted to the housing and other portions of the refrigeration system, substantial noise results which of course is very undesirable for the occupants. Another source of noise is the low frequency vibrations of the unit resulting from the torque exerted thereon during starting and stopping of the electric motor.

It is common practice, therefore, to provide the supports of these units with some form of cushioning means for absorbing the vibrations thereof to eifectively isolate the vibrating motor-compressor unit from the rest of the system.

Another problem which arises in connection with supporting of these units is that of preventing the cushioning means from allowing excessive rocking of the unit during shipment and installation of the room cooler or refrigerator. This rocking may readily damage the electric motor of the unit or may damage other portions of the system such as the refrigerant conduit connections and the condenser.

In order to prevent this rocking, various types of hold down devices are often provided for securing the unit to the housing of the system during shipment and installation thereof. These hold down devices temporarily render the cushioning portion of the supports ineffective and are usually in the form of bolts and clamps which must be tightened before shipment and then loosened after the cooler or refrigerator is installed and ready for use. The use of such hold down devices, however, is undesirable in that the persons who install the coolers or refrigerators often forget to remove the hold down devices and the noise which the cushioning portions of the supports were designed to eliminate is consequently produced. Also contributing to the undesirability of such removable hold down devices is the additional time and labor involved in their use.

An object of the invention, therefore, is to provide motor-compressor supporting structure having improved vibration absorbing characteristics.

Another object is to provide improved means for limiting the rocking motion of the motor-compressor during shipment and installation of the cooling or refrigeration system.

Another object is to render the shipment and installation of preassembled and complete cooling and refrigeration systems more feasible.

Another object is to provide a support with means for effectively absorbing the relatively heavy vibrations produced by single cylinder compressors so that they may be employed in locations where minimum noise is required.

Another object is to provide a flexible and resilient support which can be formed from a single piece of sheet metal by a single stamping and forming operation.

Another object is to provide a resilient support for motor-compressor units such that these units may be mounted in permanent position within the refrigeration ice system and the system shipped without danger of damage to either the compressor, its support or said system, and further so that the installer of the refrigeration system need not have the task of removing hold down devices from the support after the system has been installed and ready for use.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a bottom view of the support, with portions broken away, and with the motor-compressor unit secured thereto;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view of FIGURE 1 taken along the line 22 thereof with portions of the motor-compressor unit shown in elevation; and

FIGURE 3 is a top elevation of the support.

Referring to the drawings, the resilient support comprises a body generally indicated 10 of sheet metal construction which may be stamped from a roll of stock and formed in a single operation to provide side legs 12 and 14 and end legs 16 and 18. The periphery of body 10 is formed with a flange 20, and the outer edges of a pair of slots 22 and 24 are formed into flanges 26 and 28 respectively. These flanges 20, 26 and 28 provide excellent rigidifying structure for the body 10. i

A beam 30 formed by slots 22, 24 and extending lengthwise of the body It) is integrally connected at its end portions 32 and 34 to the legs 16 and 18 respectively. Beam 30 is depressed from the top of body 10 during the forming operation and the angularly related ends 32 and 34 are thereby formed. The additional length imparted to beam 30 by these ends 32 and 34 allows the beam to readily flex without tending to pull the ends 16 and 18 of the base toward each other. Beam 30 is provided with several weld projections such as 36 to facilitate welding of beam 30 to the bottom 38 of the motor-compressor unit shell generally designated 40.

During shipment and installation of the refrigeration system having the motor-compressor unit installed therein, particularly heavy vertical and lateral forces are imposed on the unit tending to flex beam 30 to an undesirable degree which could result in permanent deformation of the beam or damage to the compressor motor or other portions of the refrigeration system. To prevent this, a pair of motion limiting members 41 are each welded as at 42 to the bottom of shell 4t) so that their ends 43 extend through slots 22 and 24 to form shoulders engageable with the undersides of end legs 16 and 18 adjacent the slot ends to thus prevent excessive rocking of the unit and also to limit the degree of vertical oscillation thereof. Members 41 are formed downwardly at 45 to accommodate the lowest portion 44 of the compressor and are sufiiciently narrow to move freely within slots 22 and 24.

Apertures 46 are provided in each corner of the body 10 preferably by a punching and curling operation and receive the rubber feet or grommets 48 so that the annular grooves 49 therein receive the adjacent portions of body 10. Each of the grommets 48 is provided with a metal sleeve 50 engaged with the lower annular portion 51 of each grommet but loosely received by the upper portion of each to provide cylindrical cavities 52. Annular recesses 53 and 54 in the grommets improve their ability to absorb forces directed vertically thereof. Hold down bolts 56 or other means such as screws are then received in each sleeve 50 to secure the support 10 to the housing 58 of the refrigeration system. The cavity 52 allows substantial resilient deflection of the grommets in a horizontal direction to thereby absorb vibration in the horizontal plane and also further improves the shock absorbing properties of the grommets in the vertical direction.

While the precise interactions of the flexible beam 30 and grommets 50 which so effectively absorb compressor vibration is not completely understood, a contributing factor is thought to be that the natural vibrating frequencies of the beam 30 and grommets 50 are so dissimilar that the vibrational forces of the compressor are effectively absorbed thereby.

While it will be apparent that the embodiment of the invention herein disclosed is well calculated to fulfill the objects of the invention, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification, variation and change without departing from the proper scope or fair meaning of the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A shock absorbing support for motor-compressor units, comprising a relatively rigid sheet metal body having a continuous peripheral flange integral therewith extending substantially at right angles thereto, substantially parallel slots in said body forming flexible generally flat resilient beam means adapted for connection to a motorcompressor unit for resiliently supporting the same, flanges along the outer edges of said slots extending substantially at right angles to said body, said flanges serving to rigidify said body, and means on said body adjacent the ends of said slots for engaging portions of said unit and limiting its motion relative to said body.

2. A support for vibrating structures, comprising an otherwise rigid sheet metal body having slot means therein forming a flexible resilient beam adapted for connection to a vibrating structure, a plurality of tubular shaped rubber members supporting said body and allowing limited motion thereof in all directions, the upper ends of said rubber members being fixed to said sheet metal body at points spaced from said beam, and a rigid sleeve in each of said members receiving hold down means, said members having cavities surrounding the upper portions of said sleeves whereby said sleeves are in permanent engagement only with the portions of said members spaced from said body to thereby allow increased freedom of motion of said body.

3. A mounted motor-compressor unit having shell means secured to an elongated flexible resilient member, rigid means connected to said member and allowing flexing thereof, said flexible resilient member and rigid means being formed from an integral sheet metal body with the rigid means surrounding the resilient member and being connected thereto at the opposite ends of said resilient member, and rubber means engaging said rigid means and resiliently supporting the same.

4. In a support for a vibrating structure, a generally flat sheet metal body having an outer downturned flange, a pair of substantially parallel slots in said body forming a relatively resilient beam therebetween, the portion of said body surrounding said beam being relatively rigid, said beam being adapted to have a vibrating structure secured thereto, a pair of elongated members on said vibrating structure with respect to said support, a plurality of apertured portions at spaced points around said body inwardly of said downturned flange, grommets of resilient and flexible material mounted in said apertured portions and extending downwardly therefrom, centrally apertured portions in said grommets, and relatively rigid sleeves within said grommet apertured portions, a first part of each of said grommet apertured portions being spaced outwardly from its corresponding sleeve, a second part of each grommet apertured portion being in engagement with its corresponding sleeve.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,685,178 Eck Aug. 3, 1954 2,734,958 Immel Feb. 14, 1956 3,017,171 Mather Ian. 16, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 612,568 Great Britain Nov. 15, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GERTIFIGATE 0F GORREGTION Patent No a 3 l38 358 June 23 1964 Russell Comstock et all,

It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected belowa Column i line 17 after "structure insert -weextending through said slots and engageable with the ends thereof to limit motion of said vibrating structure Signed and sealed this 10thv day of November 1964i,

(SEAL) Altest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER EDWARD J. BRENNER Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

3. A MOUNTED MOTOR-COMPRESSOR UNIT HAVING SHELL MEANS SECURED TO AN ELONGATED FLEXIBLE RESILIENT MEMBER, MEANS SECURED TO AN ELONGATED FLEXIBLE RESILIENT MEMBER, RIGID MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID MEMBER AND ALLOWING FLEXING THEREOF, SAID FLEXIBLE RESILIENT MEMBER AND RIGID MEANS BEING FORMED FROM AN INTEGRAL SHEET METAL BODY WITH THE RIGID MEANS SURROUNDING THE RESILIENT MEMBER AND BEING CONNECTED THERETO AT THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID RESILIENT MEMBER, AND RUBBER MEANS ENGAGING SAID RIGID MEANS AND RESILIENTLY SUPPORTING THE SAME. 